


Bookends

by smallxion



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Implied Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 03:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10867725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallxion/pseuds/smallxion
Summary: She hardly knew his name.He hardly knew hers.





	Bookends

**Author's Note:**

> technically a bit long to be a drabble, but i just needed to write something short and i thought i'd post it because why not, right?

The first time, he hadn’t been in the best of moods. Without Axel he honestly felt a little lost, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about being the one in the lead, when he was barely getting the hang of Organisation stuff himself. Hell, he was barely getting the hang of _being alive_ stuff. So Xion, while she definitely left his curiosity piqued—the way she made their uniform black cloak into a veil to hide her face, her complete silence, her lack of a seat in Where Nothing Gathers—she was also a bit of a burden and he badly needed some space.

“I’ve got someplace to be again today, so go on ahead without me.” He walked past her, trying not to look too hard, think too hard about how she’d do without him. Was she like he was in the first week? A wind-up doll that needed constant attention so she didn’t fall down? No matter. It would work itself out, he told himself.

“R…Roxas…”

He stopped. “Huh? Xion…?” He turned around slowly, still not quite sure if he had misheard the wind as a voice or something.

“Roxas…is your name,” she said, unsure of what she was saying and of herself. She stood still, unnaturally so, like a reverse ice sculpture, with a certain aura of warmth.

He felt a hint of a smile twinge at his lips. “Yeah,” he said, and even in his limited capacity to deal with everything that was going on, he managed something like an encouraging tone.

-

The last time, she was resigned to her fate. There had been a lot of “last”s with Roxas—last joke, last ice-cream, last _kiss,_ but this was the last of the lasts, and that made it even more special. It was the last thing they’d have together at all, so she had to make it count.

She fell to her knees, her fuzzy vision almost a blessing. At least her miserable existence would soon be over.

“Who are you…again?” he said, clutching at the side of his face. It was like ripping off a band-aid, she told herself. Hearing him say that might have been the singular most painful thing she ever experienced, but it would only last a second and then everything would fade into a comforting black.

 He blinked rapidly, trying to ground himself. “It’s weird. I feel like I’m forgetting something really important.”

“You’ll be…better off now…Roxas,” she said, wincing a little as she heard how faint her own voice sounded. She had to fight to keep her eyes from drooping shut, and her thoughts were starting to run into each other. It was at this point that she felt herself falling forwards, and before her face hit the floor she felt his arms envelop her, saving her, and she wished she could go back to the times when he’d hold her like this and everything was alright. _Nice save, Roxas,_ she thought. If she’d hit the floor, her face would have been scraped and she’d have bled, and that would very much ruin the moment. Come to think of it, was she already bleeding? Her nerves were numbing and she wasn’t really sure.

“Am I…the one who did this to you?” he sounded scared, of course he would be, he wouldn’t want to be responsible for a stranger’s death, would he? No, she couldn’t have him feeling bad about this. It was her cross to bear, not his.

“No,” she said, feeling some kind of heat rising in her throat and tightening in a knot. “It was my choice…to go away now. Better that, than to do nothing…and let Xemnas have his way. I belong with Sora. And now, I am going back…to be with him.” She took a breath. “Roxas…I need you…to do me a favour. All those hearts that I’ve captured…Kingdom Hearts…set them free.” Her thoughts were just pouring out at this point, and it was a gargantuan effort not to cry.

“Kingdom Hearts? Free them?” he said. Had she said that? She hadn’t even registered it. She could feel her brain shutting down, bit by bit, her definition of exactly who she was, and who Roxas was, growing fuzzier by the second.

“It’s too late…for me to undo my mistakes,” she continued. A warm, metallic liquid pooled in her mouth and she frantically swallowed it back down.  “But you can’t let Xemnas…have Kingdom Hearts. You can’t.” She didn’t want this to be for nothing. Dying for nothing would help no-one.

“Goodbye, Roxas.” Of all the words she’d had to say, those were the hardest, but she pushed herself to keep on going. “See you again.” Probably a lie. “I’m glad…I got to meet you.” Definitely the truth. “Oh…and of course, Axel too. You’re both my best friends.” She touched his face. “Never forget. That’s the truth.”

“No! Xion…who else will I have ice cream with?” Of course that was what he was focused on. Silly Roxas. Some part of her pieced together that that at least meant he remembered the times on top of the clock tower. For now, anyway.

This moment was nice. Slowly fading away, with Roxas there to hold her. Given the chance, she wouldn’t go any other way.

-

The girl’s body seemed to crystallise before she faded away, leaving behind nothing but a sea shell.

He reached out to pick it up. “Xion,” he whispered, unsure of exactly why he was crying.

 


End file.
